Suddenly, an angel from the Lord stood near Peter, and his cell was filled with light. . . . At that moment the chains fell from Peter’s hands. . . . Peter followed the angel out of the cell.
Acts 12:7, 9
Do you feel trapped by doubt? Are you living in isolation and fear of what other girls are thinking or saying about you? When you feel like the walls are closing in and everything and everyone is against you in these ways, you have landed in an imaginary prison of your own making. The walls feel as real as any prison walls ever could be. You are as paralyzed and as stuck as you would be if someone had really locked a door and thrown away the key. But the walls aren’t real. Like a mime in a box, you struggle to free yourself from the nonexistent cell. As you moan about your inability to get out of this mess, you reinforce the walls, the bars, and the cold hard floor where you restlessly sleep each night.
How tragic to sentence yourself to a prison that doesn’t really exist. How crazy to believe all is lost and everyone is against you. Even if everyone around you is against you, is your God all you need to sustain you no matter what, or isn’t he?
For the child of God, there is freedom. The walls can hold you only as long as you keep your eyes on them. Once you stop considering your difficulties and start considering God’s truth, you will find an open door to walk through. To be free, all you have to do is recognize that nothing matters except the call of God on your life and that nothing happens to you unless God allows it in order to teach you something. Let go of your need to fear the outside world and walk free, just like Peter walked out of his prison on the night the walls shook and God set him free (see Acts 12:1–11).